The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres has called on the federal government to prioritise a high-quality police, and a justice response system that will bring an end to Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Nigeria.
Represented by the UN Resident Cordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, Guterres made the call Tuesday in Abuja during a media briefing to mark the beginning of 16 days of activism to end violence against women and girls.
He stressed the need for the government to take more action by increasing funding, prevention mechanism, response, as well as collect data on GBV to eliminate the menace in the society.
He said, “We call on the need for a high-quality police and justice response. We know that a positive initial contact experience with police is crucial for survivors of violence.
“As the UN, we stand with survivors and support women’s representation in peace and security, by building the justice sector response, particularly that of law enforcement, that receives cases involving violence against women and girls,’’ he said.
Guterres noted the increase violence against women during the COVID-19 lockdown, saying this compelled the UN system to develop a global engagement strategy to scale up its efforts in eliminating the menace.
He stressed the need for more advocacy, strengthening of women CSOs and engaging influencers at all levels and mobilise the social and cultural shift necessary to end GBV in the society.
Also, EU Ambassador, Ketil Karlsen, represented by Mr. Paulo Simoes, political officer, politics, press and information said Nigeria was one of the leading countries in the fight to eliminate violence against women and children.
Karlsen called on the government to intensify its efforts and invest more in the lives of women and girls as one of the strategies to end all forms of GBV.
Similarly, the UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Comfort Lamptey, said the inadequate funding has limited implementation of efforts to address GBV.
Lamptey called for an effective coordination of the multiple source of data information on GBV, as well as engaging the youth in the forefront of the advocacies to ensure a society free from GBV.
She stressed the need for protection, comprehensive treatment and care for survivors of violence, as well as the prosecution of perpetrators to end GBV.
Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, said the 2020 theme for the campaign, “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect’’ will aide in amplifying the voices of women and girls to be protected from all forms of violence.
